Latest news with #animalSmuggling
Free Malaysia Today
10-06-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Indian smuggler stopped with possums, lizards, tarantulas
More than 7,000 animals have been seized along the Thailand-India air route in the last 3½ years. (Thai customs/AFP pic) MUMBAI : Indian customs officers made the latest 'significant' seizure of endangered wildlife from a passenger arriving from Thailand, a government statement said, carrying nearly 100 creatures including lizards, sunbirds and tree-climbing possums. Customs officers said the passenger, who was also carrying two tarantula spiders and tortoises, had 'exhibited signs of nervousness' on arrival at India's financial capital Mumbai. The seizure comes after a passenger was stopped smuggling dozens of venomous vipers, also arriving from Thailand, earlier in June. Wildlife seized included iguanas, as well as a kinkajou or honey bear – a small raccoon-like animal from Mexico's rainforests – as well as six 'sugar gliders', a gliding possum found in Australia. Photographs released by the customs unit showed the six sugar gliders huddled together in a basket, as well as a box crammed with lizards. 'In a significant operation, customs officers… intercepted an Indian national… leading to the seizure of multiple live and deceased wildlife species, some of which are protected under wildlife protection laws', the ministry of finance said in a statement late yesterday. Wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC, which battles the smuggling of wild animals and plants, today warned of a 'very troubling' trend in trafficking driven by the exotic pet trade. More than 7,000 animals, dead and alive, have been seized along the Thailand-India air route in the last 3½ years, it said. Customs officers at Mumbai airport are more used to seizing smuggled gold, cash or cannabis – but instances of wildlife seizure have seen a gradual rise recently. Customs officers seized dozens of snakes and several turtles from an Indian national flying from Thailand earlier in June. Among them were several spider-tailed horned vipers, a venomous species only described by scientists in 2006 and classed as 'near-threatened' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). TRAFFIC said its analysis showed that while most cases involve animals smuggled out of Thailand, more than 80% of interceptions happened in India. 'The almost-weekly discoveries and diversity of wildlife en route to India is very troubling,' said TRAFFIC's Southeast Asia director Kanitha Krishnasamy. Many of those captured were alive, which 'shows that the clamour for exotic pets is driving the trade', she added. In February, customs officials at Mumbai airport also stopped a smuggler with five siamang gibbons, a small ape native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Those small creatures, listed as endangered by the IUCN, were 'ingeniously concealed' in a plastic crate placed inside the passenger's trolley bag, customs officers said. In November, authorities found a passenger carrying a wriggling live cargo of 12 turtles.
CNA
29-05-2025
- General
- CNA
42 cases of animal smuggling at Singapore borders in 2024
SINGAPORE: Kittens, puppies and an Asian Arowana fish were among 42 animal smuggling cases detected in 2024, according to the National Parks Board (NParks) and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA). In comparison, there were 35 such cases in 2023, said both agencies in a statement on Tuesday (May 27). Eight cases of animal smuggling were also caught at the borders between January and April of this year EXOTIC WILDLIFE SMUGGLING ON THE RISE A routine luggage inspection at Singapore's Changi Airport on Aug 27 last year found 16 live birds stuffed into pipes and crammed into a duffel bag without food and water. Three of the birds died. While the bulk of the cases involved pet animals like birds, kittens, puppies and fish, 18 cases involved the illegal importation of live wildlife, an increase of 80 per cent from 2023, said both NParks and ICA. More than 240 animals were also seized from over 30 premises in Singapore in the last two years, according to the two agencies. Ms Xie Ren Hui, director of wildlife trade at NParks, said the agency has detected more exotic wildlife cases, with the use of technology such as mobile X-ray scanning machines, together with partners like the ICA and Singapore Customs at the checkpoints. "We also see … a number of (these exotic species) that are not approved pets to be kept at home. And the reason why such exotics are being kept as pets could be for novelty reasons," she added. Ms Xie said that one of the reasons for an increase in demand for exotic wildlife as pets may include novelty, due to the small list of approved pets to be kept at home. She added that authorities have also caught exotic wildlife or animals transiting through Singapore, noting one case where 58 endangered Indian star tortoises en route to Indonesia from India were seized here. ILLEGAL TRANSIT OF WILDLIFE Authorities have confiscated many large shipments of illegal wildlife transiting Singapore in the past few years. In April 2019, Singapore authorities seized the largest-ever haul of pangolin scales when they were on the way from Nigeria to Vietnam. The case involved close to 13 tonnes of scales, worth more than S$52 million (US$40 million). In October 2022, authorities seized 20 pieces of rhinoceros horns, in one of the largest such hauls in Singapore. They were en route from South Africa to Laos, with a wholesale value of more than S$1.2 million. Another record was broken in July that year, when 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory were intercepted similarly on their way to Vietnam. The ivory, worth more than S$17 million, was estimated to have come from nearly 300 African elephants. Efforts to clamp down on such illegal trade of endangered wildlife have ramped up in recent years. The Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Amendment) Bill was changed in 2022 to strengthen enforcement against those who trade endangered species covered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international agreement that aims to ensure wildlife species are not threatened to extinction by trade. Despite strict laws and enforcement, animal smuggling is still ongoing worldwide. WHY DOES ANIMAL SMUGGLING THRIVE Associate Professor Adrian Loo, deputy director at the National University of Singapore's Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, told CNA's Singapore Tonight programme that animal smuggling continues to thrive due to demand. He added that established transport infrastructure at transshipment ports also make it easier for smugglers to operate, and while authorities do their best to detect such activities, some slip through. When asked about regions that are especially vulnerable now, Assoc Prof Loo said that just as there are smugglers flowing into Singapore and within Southeast Asia, there are many others headed in the opposite direction. He cited cases of songbirds from Southeast Asia being smuggled into Europe. He said that social media and online marketplaces have amplified the demand for such wildlife and generated interest for new entrants into the illegal trade of these animals. He noted the ease of buying smuggled animals on social media platforms meant that consumers may or may not be aware of the legality of such pets. '(It) becomes quite easy for them to … buy it without even a single thought. And it looks so interesting, a sugar glider or hedgehog,' said Assoc Prof Loo, pointing out that education is important to help reduce illegal demand for exotic pets. 'I think people lack the awareness that if you are buying things from the wild, you are creating a demand for them to be poached from the wild. And then they'll be extinct.' EDUCATING YOUTHS TO TACKLE THE ISSUE Assoc Prof Loo said battling transnational crimes such as illegal wildlife trading also requires countries to work together. He added that it is also important to educate youths about the illegal trade. He noted that the CITES Global Youth Network (CGYN) platform, which allows youths to study and learn about the challenges facing the wildlife trade, is a step in the right direction. Singapore is hosting the inaugural five-day (CGYN) Summit, a forum for more than 70 youths from 53 countries, to combat illegal wildlife trade. Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan also emphasised the importance of international collaboration during the opening ceremony of the CGYN Summit on Tuesday. "We don't just work collaboratively within the Singapore government and our agencies, but we also work with our international partners, sharing findings that can help tackle poaching hot spots more effectively and curb illegal wildlife trade at source," said Mr Tan. Ms Steffi Tan, co-founder of CGYN, said the network provides a chance for youths worldwide to share diverse perspectives of the illegal wildlife trade and learn from each other. 'Illegal wildlife trade is an international issue, it is not one country's burden to bear alone. There is supply and there is also demand and everything else that needs to be tackled in between, like the transit countries,' she said.
CNA
29-05-2025
- General
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Why is it tough to stop cases of animal smuggling at Singapore borders?
CNA938 Rewind Authorities are detecting more cases of animal smuggling at Singapore's borders. They saw a 20 per cent increase in 2024 compared to the previous year. Andrea Heng and Hairianto Diman look at why it is tough to crack down on these cases with Assoc. Prof. Adrian Loo, Deputy Director, Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions at NUS.
CNA
27-05-2025
- General
- CNA
42 cases of illegal animal smuggling detected in 2024, up from 35 in 2023: NParks, ICA
Forty-two cases of animal smuggling were detected in 2024, a 20 per cent increase from 2023. The National Parks Board and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority say 18 of them involved illegally importing live wildlife. This is up from 10 cases in 2023. Associate Professor Adrian Loo, Deputy Director at the NUS Centre for Climate-based Solutions, talks about why it is so tough to curtail animal smuggling. He also reveals where demand for live illegal imports come from.
